Mugniyeh's fateful last words made public

Following last week's account of Imad Mughniyeh's
assassination in 2008 in Damascus
by the al-Akhbar Hezbollah-linked
newspaper, further details on the affair were released on Monday by the Arab press.

"I only want to stay a short while, I'll be back in a few minutes," were Mughniyeh's words before his last meeting, explaining to his companion why he parked his car on the street – a choice that proved his demise.

In a story released by Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya network, titled "Imad Mughniyeh's last moments," an associate is quoted as saying that on the fateful day Mughniyeh met with the Islamic Jihad
Secretary General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah
in an apartment in the Sousa village near Damascus.

In the meeting, arranged as part of the coordination between the two organizations, the two discussed Hezbollah's military support of the organization.

Mughniyeh' funeral, 2008 (Photo: AFP)

According to the report, Mughniyeh was accompanied by a senior Hezbollah member nicknamed "Haj Sajd," related to the terror organization's security arms.

When Mughniyeh arrived at the meeting, Shaleh asked him: "Where did you park your vehicle?"

"I parked it outside," Mughniyeh reportedly answered – and was promptly reprimanded by Shalah: "Why didn't you park it in the building's underground parking lot?" Mughniyeh answered: "I only want to stay for a few minutes."

According to the report, Hezbollah's top henchman was supposed to later meet a Lebanese
security official in the Damascus suburbs.

A few moments later, an explosion rocked the street. Haj Sajd was the first out of the door, and therefore saw Mughniyeh's body before anyone else did.

According to the associate quoted in the report, Mughniyeh was killed immediately. Sajd covered his body with a cover found in the apartment after notifying Shalah of what happened.

He then contacted the Hezbollah leadership and was asked to bring the body to Beirut, following coordination with Syrian
and Lebanese security services.

In a report released on Tuesday it was claimed that Mughniyeh met with senior Palestinian operatives to discuss improving the "resistance" in Palestine, particularly in Gaza.

That report contradicts previous reports according to which Mughniyeh was visiting his mistress prior to his assassination.